1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing more specifically to methods for assisting the rinsing of a wafer in a single wafer cleaning process.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In the fabrication of modern semiconductor integrated circuits (chips) such as microprocessors and memories, there are at least 60 steps which require wet etching or cleaning of a silicon wafer on which the devices are made. Wet etching or wet cleaning of silicon wafers is usually done by immersing a batch of wafers (e.g., 50-100 wafers) into a cleaning liquid such as SC-1 or SC-2 and then rinsing the wafers by immersing in DI water. An immersion batch process is inherently slow since it relies on flow passing along stationery wafers to rinse wafers. Because there is a need for shorter cycle time in chip manufacturing, there is a need for fast single wafer cleaning and rinsing processes.